Culture: There is a contrast between how Nephites treat their own and enemy dead. They buried their own dead (v. 1) but threw the dead Lamanites and Amlicites into the river. This differential treatment indicates that the preferred treatment of the dead is burial. Nephites give Nephite dead culturally proper care. Each society develops “proper” ways to deal with the dead, and these folkways typically are drawn from and, in turn, influence beliefs about the afterlife of the body’s spirit. In contrast, throwing Lamanite and Amlicite corpses into the river to be carried downstream is a conscious denial of respect to the enemy dead.
Stated in these harsh terms, such behavior seems “un-Christian.” However, because this action is somewhat unexpected from the “Christian” Nephites, it discloses the fact that they were an ancient people following an ancient practice, something that it is sometimes easy to forget.